Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Artist: Regatta, Album: Regatta, Song: Wherever You Run

"Four o'clock in the morning I open up my eyes from a dream where you were lying by my side." Regatta were Chris Smith, Matthew Gerrard and Greg Critchley. After winning the Q107 Homegrown Radio contest in 1985, they were signed to BMG. They released their one and only self titled debut album in 1989. Often referred to as AOR which stands for "album oriented rock" but in this case is used to describe the slick, commercial sound of many bands that got heavy FM radio play during the seventies and eighties. It's funny how that term became so improperly used. AOR was a way for DJ's to play more than just singles on the radio. They would make an effort to showcase other album tracks by the artist. Not a bad idea but somewhere along the way, the true meaning of the phrase got lost. The song, Wherever You Run, was the single for the band that got them the most attention. It's an upbeat, smooth rock song with great harmonies. Greg Critchley might be the most recognizable name of the trio as a result of his work with the Spoons, FM and the Partland Brothers. Both he and Matthew Gerrard make their livings on the production side of the business today and are based in Los Angeles. They have been linked to projects with Disney, Hannah Montana and Hilary Duff to name a few. Chris Smith is still recording as a solo artist but in the genre of smooth jazz. He has worked with the likes of Michael Buble and Diana Krall. The album, Regatta, isn't widely available. There were copies trading on Ebay and Discogs between $5 and $50 at the time of this blog. You can watch the video for the song, Wherever You Run, on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UttfwobAVkU). As always, you can hear this song as well as others that I blog about each day on Live 365 (www.live365.com/stations/raisedoncndnradio). Thanks for reading and enjoy!